View source for Glasgow dialect

{{short description|Scots variety spoken in and around Glasgow, Scotland}}
{{Infobox language
|name=Glasgow dialect
|altname=Glaswegian
|nativename=
|states=[[Scotland]]
|region=[[Greater Glasgow]]
|ethnicity=[[Scottish people]]
|speakers=Unknown, likely up to 1,000,000 {{xref|(see: [[Glasgow]])}}{{cn|date=January 2023}}
|date=no date
|familycolor=Indo-European
|fam2=[[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
|fam3=[[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
|fam4=[[North Sea Germanic]]
|fam5=[[Anglo-Frisian languages|Anglo-Frisian]]
|fam6=[[Anglic languages|Anglic]]
|fam7= [[English language|English]]
|fam8= [[British English language|British English]]
|fam9= [[Scottish English]]
|ancestor=[[Old English]]
|ancestor2=[[Middle English]]
|script=[[Latin script|Latin]]
|ietf=sco-u-sd-gbglg, en-scotland-u-sd-gbglg
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
The '''Glasgow dialect''', also called '''Glaswegian''', varies from [[Scottish English]] at one end of a bipolar [[linguistic continuum]] to the local dialect of West [[Central Scots]] at the other.<ref>Macafee C.I. (1983) ‘Glasgow’ in Varieties of English around the World. Amsterdam: Benjamins. p.7</ref><ref>Stuart-Smith J. ''Scottish English: Phonology'' in Varieties of English: The British Isles, Kortman & Upton (Eds), Mouton de Gruyter, New York 2008. p.47</ref> Therefore, the speech of many Glaswegians can draw on a "continuum between fully localised and fully standardised".<ref>Macafee C.I. (1983) ‘Glasgow’ in Varieties of English around the World. Amsterdam: Benjamins. p.31</ref>  Additionally, the Glasgow dialect has [[Highland English]] and [[Hiberno-English]] influences<ref>{{Citation | last = Menzies | first = Janet | title = An Investigation of Attitudes to Scots | url = http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/STELLA/STARN/lang/MENZIES/menzie1.htm | journal = Scottish Language | volume = 10 | pages = 30–46 | year = 1991 | access-date = 28 August 2010 | archive-date = 11 November 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201111215204/https://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/STELLA/STARN/lang/MENZIES/menzie1.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> owing to the speech of [[Scottish Highlanders|Highlanders]] and [[Irish people]] who migrated in large numbers to the Glasgow area in the 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fraser|first=W. Hamish |author2=Thomas Martin Devine |author3=Gordon Jackson |author4=Irene Maver  | title=Glasgow: Volume II: 1830–1912|publisher=[[Manchester University Press]]|year=1997|pages=149–150|isbn=978-0-7190-3692-7 }}</ref> While being named for Glasgow, the accent is typical for natives across the full [[Greater Glasgow]] area and associated counties such as [[Lanarkshire]], [[Renfrewshire (historic)|Renfrewshire]], [[Dunbartonshire]] and parts of [[Ayrshire]], which formerly came under the single authority of [[Strathclyde]]. It is most common in [[working class]] people, which can lead to [[Social stigma|stigma]] from members of other classes or those outside Glasgow.

As with other dialects, it is subject to [[dialect levelling]] where particularly [[Modern Scots|Scots]] vocabulary is replaced by [[Standard English]] words and, in particular, words largely from [[colloquial English]].<ref>Robert McColl Millar (2018) Modern Scots: An Analytical Survey, Edinburgh University Press, p. 135</ref> However, Glaswegians continue to create new [[euphemism]]s and [[nickname]]s for well-known local figures and buildings.

==Literature==
The Glasgow vernacular has also established itself in [[Scottish literature]].<ref>Hagan, Anette I. (2002) Urban Scots Dialect Writing. Bern: Lang.</ref> Many authors spell some of the [[Central Scots|Scots]] elements phonetically, often coinciding with common spelling errors,<ref name="auto">Macafee C.I. (1983) ‘Glasgow’ in Varieties of English around the World. Amsterdam: Benjamins p.40</ref> rather than using the prestigious [[Modern Scots]] conventions. The general effect of that, particularly its comic forms, is to exaggerate the [[Mutual intelligibility|unintelligibility]] of Glasgow speech to outsiders.<ref name="auto"/> The resulting [[orthography|orthographic]] representation of the vernacular gives the overall impression of an anti-standard rather than a local standard.<ref name="auto"/>

Michael Munro wrote a  guide to Glaswegian entitled ''The Patter'', first published in 1985. With illustrations by [[David Neilson (artist)|David Neilson]], and later by the [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]]-born artist and playwright [[John Byrne (Scottish playwright)|John Byrne]], the book was followed by ''The Patter – Another Blast'' in 1988, with ''The Complete Patter'', an updated compendium of the first and second books, being published in 1996.

[[James Kelman]]'s 1994 novel ''[[How Late It Was, How Late]]'' is written largely in Glaswegian dialect from the point of view of Sammy Samuels, a 38-year-old ex-convict who wakes up blind after a drinking binge and a fight with police. The novel won the 1994 [[Booker Prize]].

Jamie Stuart, a [[Church of Scotland]] elder from the High [[Carntyne]] Church, produced "A Glasgow Bible" in 1997, relating some biblical tales in the Glaswegian vernacular. More recently, in 2014 ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' was translated into Glaswegian Scots by [[Thomas Clark (writer)|Thomas Clark]] as ''Alice's Adventirs in Wunnerlaun''.

A 2020 [[Graeme Armstrong (author)|Graeme Armstrong]] novel, ''The Young Team'', narrated by a [[Glasgow young teams|gang member]] in the local dialect, focuses on the '[[ned culture]]' of the region in the early 21st century (albeit set in [[Airdrie, North Lanarkshire]] a few miles east of Glasgow rather than in the city itself).<ref>[https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/book-review-young-team-graeme-armstrong-2077037?amp Book review: The Young Team, by Graeme Armstrong], [[Stuart Kelly (literary critic)|Stuart Kelly]], The Scotsman, 5 March 2020</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/13/the-young-team-graeme-armstrong-review The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong review – a swaggering, incendiary debut], Jude Cook, The Guardian, 13 March 2020</ref> Armstrong, who had been inspired by the style used by [[Irvine Welsh]] for [[Trainspotting (novel)|''Trainspotting'']] – written in the similar but distinct accent of [[Edinburgh]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ex-gang member and Young Team author Graeme Armstrong on the lonely road to redemption |date=7 March 2020 |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/arts_ents/18288677.ex-gang-member-young-team-author-graeme-armstrong-road-redemption/ |access-date=15 May 2023 |website=HeraldScotland }}</ref> – struggled to have his novel published and was advised to mitigate the use of the dialect to appeal to a wider audience, but refused to compromise the authenticity of the characters' voices.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://literaturealliancescotland.co.uk/literature-talks/graeme-armstrong-standard-english-is-oor-second-language/|title=Graeme Armstrong – Standard English is oor Second Language|website=Literature Alliance Scotland|access-date=24 May 2023}}</ref>

==Phonology==
Jane Stuart-Smith defined two varieties for descriptive purposes in a chapter of the 1999 book ''Urban Voices'' entitled "Glasgow: accent and voice quality":
* Glasgow Standard English (GSE), the Glaswegian form of [[Scottish English]], spoken by most middle-class speakers
* Glasgow vernacular (GV), the dialect of many working-class speakers, which is historically based on West-[[Central Scots]], but which shows strong influences from [[Irish English]], its own distinctive [[slang]] and increased levelling towards GSE{{sfnp|Stuart-Smith|1999|pp=203–4}}

Differences between the two systems are mostly in lexical incidence.{{sfnp|Stuart-Smith|1999|p=205}}  Many working-class speakers use the SSE system when reading aloud, albeit with different qualities for the vowels.{{sfnp|Stuart-Smith|1999|p=205}}  The table below shows the vowels used in both variants below:{{sfnp|Stuart-Smith|1999|p=206}}

{{IPA vowels|class=mw-collapsible mw-collapsed||audio=yes}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Traditional [[lexical set]]
!Lexical set
! GSE
! GV
|-
| rowspan="2" |CLOTH
|OFF
| rowspan="5" |{{IPA|ɔ}}
|{{IPA|a̠}}
|-
|CLOTH
| rowspan="6" |{{IPA|o}}
|-
| colspan="2" |LOT
|-
| colspan="2" |THOUGHT
|-
| colspan="2" |NORTH
|-
| colspan="2" |GOAT
| rowspan="3" |{{IPA|o}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |FORCE
|FORCE
|-
|MORE
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|e}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |FACE
|FACE
| rowspan="4" |{{IPA|e}}
|-
|STAY
|{{IPA|e ~ ʌi}}
|-
| colspan="2" |SQUARE
|{{IPA|ɛ ~ e}}
|-
| colspan="2" |happY
|{{IPA|e ~ ɪ̈}}
|-
| colspan="2" |FOOT
|{{IPA|ʉ}}
|{{IPA|ɪ̈ ~ ɪ}}
|-
| colspan="2" |MOUTH
|{{IPA|ʌʉ}}
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|ʉ}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |GOOSE
|GOOSE
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|ʉ}}
|-
|DO
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|e}}
|-
| colspan="2" |START
| rowspan="6" |{{IPA|a̠}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |TRAP
|STAND
| {{IPA|ɔ}}
|-
|TRAP
| rowspan="3" | {{IPA|a̠}}
|-
| colspan="2" |PALM
|-
| rowspan="2" |BATH
|BATH
|-
|AFTER
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|ɛ}}
|-
| rowspan="3" |DRESS
|DRESS
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|ɛ}}
|-
|HEAD
|{{IPA|i}}
|-
|NEVER
|{{IPA|ɛ ~ ɛ̈}}
|{{IPA|ɪ̈}}
|-
| rowspan="3" |NURSE
|BERTH
|{{IPA|ɛ}}
|{{IPA|ɛ ~ ɪ}}
|-
|BIRTH
|{{IPA|ɪ}}
|{{IPA|ɪ̈ ~ ʌ̈}}
|-
|NURSE
| rowspan="3" |{{IPA|ʌ̈}}
|{{IPA|ʌ̈ ~ ɪ}}
|-
| colspan="2" | STRUT
| rowspan="3" | {{IPA|ʌ̈}}
|-
| colspan="2" |commA
|-
| colspan="2" |lettER
|{{IPA|ɪ̈ ~ ʌ̈}}
|-
| colspan="2" |horsES
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|ɪ}}
|{{IPA|ɪ̈ ~ ʌ̈}}
|-
| colspan="2" |KIT
|{{IPA|ɪ̈ ~ i}}
|-
| colspan="2" |FLEECE
|{{IPA|ï ~ i̠}}
|{{IPA|i ~ i̠}}
|-
| colspan="2" |CURE
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|jʉ}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | PRICE
|PRICE
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|ʌi}}
|-
|PRIZE
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|ae}}
|-
| colspan="2" | CHOICE
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|ɔe}}
|-
| colspan="2" | NEAR
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|i}}
|}

{{harvp|Stuart-Smith|1999}} describes notable features of consonants that distinguish the Glasgow dialect from other dialects.{{sfnp|Stuart-Smith|1999|pp=208–210}}
* [[T-glottalization]] is "strongly stigmatized yet extremely common".  Glottalization also occurs of {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/p/}}, albeit less frequently.
* {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/t/}} can be pronounced with [[dentalisation]].  {{IPA|/d/}} is sometimes omitted at the end of a word (e.g. ''old'', ''stand'').
* [[Th-fronting]] occurs with some younger speakers.
* {{IPA|/x/}} is used in words such as ''loch'', although this is dying out amongst younger speakers.
* {{IPA|/ʍ/}} is used in words beginning "wh" (e.g. ''whine'').
* There is no [[H-dropping]] except in unstressed cases of ''him'' and ''her''.
* [[Yod-dropping]] only occurs after {{IPA|/l/}} or {{IPA|/s/}}.
* Most Glasgow speech is [[Rhoticity in English|rhotic]], but non-rhoticity can be found amongst some younger working-class speakers.  The realisation of {{IPA|/r/}} can be {{IPA|[ɹ]}}, {{IPA|[ɻ]}} or {{IPA|[r]}}.
* {{IPA|/l/}} is a [[Voiced_dental,_alveolar_and_postalveolar_lateral_approximants#Velarized_alveolar_lateral_approximant|dark ''l'']] {{IPA|[ɫ]}} in almost all positions.

==In the media==
{{refimprove section|date=August 2020}}
In the 1970s, the Glasgow-born comedian [[Stanley Baxter]] parodied the patter on his television sketch show.  "Parliamo Glasgow" was a spoof programme in which Baxter played a language coach and various scenarios using Glaswegian dialogue were played out for laughs.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Scotslanguage.com – Parliamo Glasgow|url=https://www.scotslanguage.com/articles/view/id/3785/type/referance|access-date=2021-12-11|website=www.scotslanguage.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=A newbie's guide to Glasgow|url=https://www.rcs.ac.uk/blog/a-newbies-guide-to-glasgow/|access-date=2021-12-11|website=Blog}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Wright|first=Jane|date=2016-06-01|title=Parliamo Glasgow? Stanley Baxter is still puredeadbrilliant byrraway|url=http://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/parliamo-glasgow-stanley-baxter-still-11413553|access-date=2021-12-11|website=GlasgowLive|language=en}}</ref> Popular television comedies using the dialect include ''[[Rab C. Nesbitt]]'', ''[[Chewin' the Fat]]'', ''[[Still Game]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wallace|first=Megan|date=2019-04-02|title=Still Game: why the filthy, cantankerous, duck-feeding Scots will be sorely missed|url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/02/still-game-why-the-filthy-cantankerous-duck-feeding-scots-will-be-sorely-missed|access-date=2021-12-11|website=the Guardian}}</ref> ''[[Burnistoun]]'' and ''[[Limmy's Show]]''.

The 1998 film by [[Ken Loach]], ''[[My Name is Joe]]'', is one of the few films recorded [almost] entirely in Glasgow dialect. As a result, the film had to be given subtitles when released in the United States and even for audiences in England. The same situation occurred with another Loach film, 2002's ''[[Sweet Sixteen (2002 film)|Sweet Sixteen]]'', based in the town of [[Greenock]] which has a local accent virtually identical to that of Glasgow,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/loach-film-may-be-subtitled-for-english-audience-185427.html|title=Loach film may be subtitled for English audience|date=23 July 2002|access-date=17 August 2020|newspaper=The Independent|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12396377.english-subtitles-on-film-set-in-scotland/|title='English' subtitles on film set in Scotland|date=21 February 2005|access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref> and  with the 2010 release ''[[Neds (film)|Neds]]'' set in the city.<ref>[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/neds-film-review-29982 Neds – Film Review] The Hollywood Reporter, October 14, 2010</ref>

==Alleged influence from Cockney==
Studies have indicated that working-class adolescents in areas such as [[Glasgow]] have begun to use certain aspects of [[Cockney]] and other [[Anglicism]]s in their speech,<ref>[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20091213155241/http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/ViewAwardPage.aspx?AwardId=1892 Is TV a contributory factor in accent change in adolescents?] – ESRC Society Today</ref> infiltrating the traditional Glasgow speech.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070711191153/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/access/571152461.html?did=571152461&FMT=ABS&FMTS=FT&date=Mar%2B4,%2B2004&author=&desc=Cockney%2Bcreep%2Bputs%2Bpaid%2Bto%2Bthe%2Bpatter Cockney creep puts paid to the patter] – Evening Times</ref> For example, [[th-fronting]] is commonly found, and typical [[Scottish English|Scottish]] features such as the [[Post-vocalic r|post-vocalic /r/]] are reduced,<ref>{{cite journal|title='Talkin' Jockney'? Variation and change in Glaswegian accent1|journal = Journal of Sociolinguistics|first1=Jane|last1=Stuart-Smith|first2=Claire|last2=Timmins|first3=Fiona|last3=Tweedie|date=1 April 2007|volume=11|issue=2|pages=221–260|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9841.2007.00319.x}}</ref> although this last feature is more likely to be a development of Central Belt Scots origin, unrelated to Anglo-English non-rhoticity.<ref>Speitel, H. H. & Johnston, P. (1983). ESRC End of Grant Report "A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Edinburgh Speech."</ref> Researches suggest the use of [[English English|English]] speech characteristics is likely to be consequential on the influence of London and south east England accents which feature prominently on television.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3531075.stm|title=Soaps may be washing out accent|website=Bbc.co.uk|date=4 March 2004 }}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110604215941/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1036798.ece 'We fink, so we are from Glasgow'] – Times Online</ref><ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_/ai_n16503073 Scots kids rabbitin' like Cockneys] – ''Sunday Herald''</ref><ref>[http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/sesll/EngLang/phonetics/index.html – Faculty of Arts, University of Glasgow] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530235558/http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/sesll/EngLang/phonetics/index.html |date=30 May 2008 }}</ref>

The linguist [[John C. Wells]], a critic of the media reporting on [[Estuary English]], has questioned whether Glasgow is being influenced by Cockney speech.  He claimed that journalists had misrepresented the prevalence of th-fronting in Glasgow and that there is no evidence that th-fronting originated in London.  He also wrote that all dialects change over time and that change does not mean that the Glasgow patter will disappear.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/glasgow.htm|title=Glasgow and Estuary English|website=Phon.ucl.ac.uk|access-date=31 March 2019}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book
|last=Stuart-Smith
|first=Jane
|title=Urban Voices
|chapter=Glasgow: accent and voice quality
|pages=203–222
|editor-last1=Foulkes
|editor-first1=Paul
|editor-last2=Docherty
|editor-first2=Gerard
|year=1999
|isbn=0340706082
|publisher=Arnold
}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150514183957/http://www.glesga.ndo.co.uk/glesgaglossary.htm Glesca Glossary: self-published glossary (of variable quality and pertinence)]
* [http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/glasgow.htm Glasgow Dialect] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227110346/http://www.scots-online.org/grammar/glasgow.htm |date=27 February 2021 }}
* [http://www.scotslanguage.com/books/view/55/1402/The%20Invisible%20Language A series of articles on the Glasgow dialect on the Scots Language Centre website]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200131084741/http://www.lexiconplanet.com/wklyscreenpatter_eng.html Lexicon Planet, featuring excerpts from ''The Patter'']}}
* [http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/ The Online Scots Dictionary]

{{English dialects by continent}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasgow Patter}}
[[Category:City colloquials]]
[[Category:Culture in Glasgow]]
[[Category:Scottish English]]
[[Category:Scots dialects]]